Multisector scraper for gun bores



F. s. WEBB MULTISECTOR SCRAPER FOR sun BORES Filed March 30, 1945 Jan. 31, 1950 FT l E 3mm Frank 5 Wehb 34 a M1 24 am Patented Jan. 31, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention. described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to bore cleaning devices and has as its principal object the provision of a device of this character which is particularly effective in removing preservative compounds from large caliber guntubes.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of this character adapted to be manually operated and which will effect a considerable saving of man power and cleaning solvent per gun over other devices now known or in use.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device of this character, which may be readily assembled and disassembled, and one which is economical to manufacture.

With these and other objects in View, as will hereinafter more fully appear, and which will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved bore cleaning device;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Figure 5 is a detail plan View, illustrating the circumferentially notched cleansing disc.

Referring now to the drawings, in which similar reference characters represent similar parts, my invention comprises a longitudinal, cylindrical member 2, threaded at each end to receive identical end caps '4 and 6, which end caps are provided with circular openings, through which connecting rod 8 is adapted to be inserted through cylindrical member 2. Suitable identical washers I0 and I2 are adapted to be positioned on member 2 adjacent the rims of end caps 4 and 6. Additional identical washers l4 and i6 are positioned around connecting rod 2 adjacent the outer ends of the end caps 4 and 6, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The front end of connecting rod 8 is provided with a collar l8 and an eye 20 formed integrally therewith, to provide means for securing a suitable draw member, such as a rope or the like, not shown. The other end of the rod 8 is threaded to receive nut 22, said nut being formed integrally with, or suitably secured to, as by welding or the like, a looped member 24, to which loop a suitable draw member, not shown, may be attached'if desired.

The forward cleaning element comprises a disk assembly, in which identical supporting disks, 26 and 28, made of plywood or other suitable material or composition, are mounted axially on the cylindrical member 2, having secured therebetween and also axially mounted on cylindrical member 2, a smaller disk 30, which may be of similar 01' other suitable material, as shown in Figs. 2. 3 and 4. Also secured between supporting disks 26 and 28, are a plurality of disk sectors or segments 32, preferably of plywood or the like, and held in place by bolts 34 which extend through aligned holes in the supporting disks. Radial expansion and contraction of segments 32 are permitted by radially elongated openings 36 in thesegments, through which bolts 34 are secured. The inner surfaces of sectors or segments 32 are provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced radial apertures or pockets 38, in which are positioned coil springs 40, which springs may be secured at their outer ends to segments 32. The inner ends of these coil springs abut the surface of axial disk 30, which disk may be metal faced, if desired, and the force stored in these springs moves the segments radially outward to the limit permitted by the elongated openings 36, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and due to this force the periphery of each segment will be constantly maintained against the bore of the gun as the device is pulled or drawn therethrough.

The rear cleaning element comprises a disk of plywood or the like 42 axially mounted on cylindrical member 2, said disk 42 being provided with longitudinally and circumferentially spaced steel bristles 44 mounted on the peripheral surface thereof. Axially mounted on member 2, intermediate the forward cleaning element assembly and the rear cleaning element, and maintained in spaced relation therefrom by means of identical tubular spacers 4B of rubber or the like, is a circumferentially notched cleaning disk 48 of leather or other suitable material, maintained in position by identical supporting disks 50 axially mounted on opposite sides thereof and held together by a plurality of bolts 52 which pass through openings 54 in the notched disk 48.

In operation, the draw member, not shown, comprising a rope or the like, is fastened at one end to eye 20 while the other end is introduced into the muzzle of the gun and drawn through the bore until the segments 32 come into contact with the muzzle. These segments are then depressed manually to permit entry into the bore,

and further movement of the device down the bore causes the segments 32, which are pressed against the interior of the gun tube, to remove, by scraping, most of the preservative compound which has adhered to the tube surface. The circumferentially notched cleansing disk follows, engaging with the lands and grooves of the tube and removing additional preservative compound therefrom, particularly that which has lodged in the riiling grooves. Finally the brush removes other elements of preservative compound which have not been removed by the precedin cleansing elements. The operation may then be repeated as many times as necessary to thoroughly clean the gun tube.

While I have illustrated and described the invention in some detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to such details, but only by the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a device for cleaning the bore of a gun barrel, a cylindrical member, first, second, and third disks journaled on said member concentric thereof and in contiguous relation in the order mentioned, said first and third disks being of equal size and greater in diameter than said secand disk, a plurality of sector-shaped elements positioned for individual radial movement between said first and third disks, each said element having its inner periphery generally conforming to the periphery of said second disk, the outer peripheries of said sectors conjointly forming a substantially continuous circular scraping edge, a plurality of equally circumferentiallyspaced bolts secured to and between said first and third disks generally parallel with said member, each bolt passing through a radially elongated aperture centrally located in a respective element, there being three circumierentiallyspaced radial pockets in each said element opening through the inner periphery thereof, the central pocket in each element being in the same axial plane with the radially-elongated aperture thereof and the remaining two pockets of each element being located in respective axial planes equally angularly spaced on opposite sides of said central pocket, a spring in each pocket bearing on the periphery of said second disk, said springs coacting to urge the elements radially outwardly of said member, and means carried by said member and engaging the outer sides of said first and third disks to hold all of said disks in contiguous relation.

FRANK S. WEBB.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 386,600 Newmon July 24, 1888 390,060 Blanchard Sept. 25, 1888 566,973 Fassett et a1 1 Sept. 1, 1896 646,545 Novotny Apr. 3, 1900 672,570 Rung Apr. 23, 1901 1,067,117 Hull July 8, 1913 1,088,794 Pierce Mar. 3, 1914 1,325,348 Bowman Dec. 16, 1919 1,427,719 Bruck Aug. 29, 1922 1,994,861 Meyer Mar. 19, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 16,399 Great Britain 1884 57,197 Austria Jan. 10, 1913 303,188 Italy Nov. 23, 1932 

